System and method for time-shifted program viewing

ABSTRACT

A system and method for time-shifted viewing of broadcast television programs is disclosed. Simultaneous recording and playback are provided by using buffer storage as the source and destination of compressed or uncompressed digital video/audio programs. Full VCR-like control is provided for all playback within the buffer storage. Playback and control of recorded programs may be initiated by the user at any time after initiation of the broadcast program with simultaneous continuous recording of the ongoing live broadcast. Larger archival storage and removable is also provided for storing and building a library of programs. Viewer playback control data may be stored as part of the program or used as edit points prior to archival. Numerous options are provided for features such as continuous automatic recording in a circular buffer fashion, program archival, editing, Internet interfaces, multiple-channel recording and more.

1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1.1 Broadcast, VCRs

This invention is related to the field of broadcast television in allit's forms. This includes but is not limited to over-the-air broadcast,cable TV, and satellite TV. The primary focus is the broadcast paradigm,whereby programs are scheduled by the broadcaster and broadcast inreal-time whereupon viewers may tune in to the program. This inventionrelates in particular to a device which allows users much greaterflexibility in their reception and use of this programming. VCRs are oneexample of an earlier technology that relates to the use of broadcastprograms. Using VCRs, viewers were able to record a program and play itback at their leisure, perhaps at another time. Additionally, for thefirst time viewers were offered limited control over the viewing. Theuser could pause, rewind, fast-forward and stop and re-start viewing atany time after the initial recording was complete. The broadcast programwas essentially captured in an analog medium for later use. Some of thelimitations of a VCR which the present invention addresses are:simultaneous record and playback from the same medium are not available;the device records only one, or at the most two, channels at a time; anda removable medium, namely magnetic tape, is required.

This invention relates in a similar fashion to the broadcast televisionindustry but offers new and unique features not found in VCRs or anyother video/audio-programming-based device.

2.0 OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The objects of the present invention include, but are not limited to thefollowing. It is one object of the invention to facilitate recording ofa program and allow viewing of the already-recorded material to takeplace while the program recording continues. It is another object of theinvention to allow this simultaneous record/playback to take place onone or more channels simultaneously. It is another object of theinvention to record using digital storage in many forms, using eitherinternal or external mediums. It is another object of this invention toprovide a ‘save’ function which incorporates semi-permanent digitalstorage of the recorded program as a function distinct from thesimultaneous recording and playback of the program. It is another objectof the invention to allow complete VCR-like control during playback. Itis another object of this invention to allow the ‘save’ function to saveedited versions of the program as defined by the playback commands usedduring viewing.

3.0 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

3.1 Overview

With the advent of digital video components, it is now possible todigitize, compress and store entire video programs using a variety ofdigital storage devices such as disk, digital tape, RAM, CD-ROM, DVD(Digital Versatile Disk or Digital Video Disk) and others. In thepresent invention, the system may be connected to a conventional videosource such as broadcast TV, cable TV, satellite TV, VCR and so forth.In most cases, the video signal is in a standard RF-modulated analogformat such as NTSC, PAL or SECAM. In the case of a modulated videosource such as broadcast TV or cable TV, the signal is first demodulatedto tune to a specific channel. This is performed by a conventional tunersuch as those found in VCRs and TVs. The tuner may be used to tune intoone or more channels simultaneously and more than one tuner may beincluded in the system. Digital inputs are also provided and will bedescribed shortly. In the case of an incoming analog video signal, thesignal is then digitized and optionally compressed using a conventionalvideo capture board or video capture chip sets integrated into thesystem. This capture hardware accepts a video input, digitizes thevideo/audio program, optionally compresses the quantity of digital dataand outputs a digital data stream which can be stored using any digitalstorage media. In variations of the preferred embodiment, the incomingvideo signal may already be in a digital format and thus not requiredigitization (such as a High-Definition Television (HDTV), DirectBroadcast Satellite (DBS) signal, or Internet-based broadcasts).Furthermore, the source digital signal or the digitized analog signalmay or may not be compressed. The compression method used may vary andis of little consequence to the present invention which can useuncompressed digital data or compressed data. However, the currentcommon compressed digital formats include MPEG and AVI formats. For thepresent invention, the selection of the video capture board or chip sets(and the compressed digital format it uses) is relevant only to thequality of the video playback and the corresponding amount of digitalstorage required. It is envisioned that the embodiments will varydepending on the desired quality and cost constraints for the storagemedia. In a relatively inexpensive consumer device, for example, acost-efficient MEPG-1 and inexpensive four-Gigabyte hard drive mightcurrently be used. On the other hand, a professional application mightcurrently use MPEG-2 and RAM for very high quality along with very fastaccess. An important consideration regarding the selection of the videocapture board and the storage media is that the data rate for writing tothe digital storage must exceed the output rate of the video capturehardware. For example, if MPEG-1 is the selected compression method andthe output rate of the capture/compression hardware is therefore 1.5Mbits/second, then the sustained data rate for writing to digitalstorage must be greater than 1.5 Mbits/second or else data will be lost.Also, compression/decompression may take place via software algorithmsimplemented by the system's main CPU or in dedicatedcompression/decompression processors. Cable converter boxes, commonlyknown as “set-top” boxes provide decoding of compressed digital videostreams. In such a case one embodiment of the present invention includesa provision for using the set-top box for providing thecompression/decompression for the system.

3.2 Dual-Port Circular Buffer Storage

A key aspect of the present invention is it's use of FIFO dual-portstorage. Digital storage systems are most commonly used in an off-linemode, that is, data is written and the data is read at some later time.For example, in a video compression and playback system, the compresseddigital data would likely be written to disk during recording and, afterthe recording process has been completed, the data could be read forplayback. In this sense, storage is used as an archive—even if thearchive will be used moments later, the process of storing all the datamust be completed before the data is used. In contrast, the presentinvention is designed to be dual-ported, that is, to be accessed forwriting and reading simultaneously on the same media. In this manner, atany time after the process of capturing, optionally compressing andstorage has begun, the program is also accessible for reading,decompression, playback and other functions. This can also occur whilethe recording process is continuing to store data using a separate anddistinct section of the same storage medium. Additionally, the storagemedium in the system is designed as a FIFO, which is acommonly-understood acronym in the art which stands for First In FirstOut. FIFO storage is essentially used as a circular buffer. The firstdata written into this circular buffer is the first data which isoverwritten. For brevity, the terms ‘buffer storage’ or ‘buffer’ may beused herein, but the term always refers to this dual-port circularbuffer storage unless otherwise noted.

In an example of the preferred embodiment, the use of this bufferstorage is also taken a step further. In this embodiment, once thestorage medium has been filled, the oldest data, which is the first datato have entered the FIFO, is pushed out—it is overwritten with the newdata. In this manner, the buffer storage is constantly filled with thelatest recorded material. The total amount of storage in the bufferdetermines the extants of VCR-like control for rewind and fast-forward.Alternatively, only a designated amount of the total storage may be usedfor recording, leaving storage available for other features of thesystem. In any case, this FIFO dual-port storage will be referred toherein as buffer storage. Buffer storage is always the storage used toprovide direct access for the viewer to control playback of the recordedmaterial.

3.3 Circular Buffer Example

In the example of the preferred embodiment, consider the scenario for 30minutes of buffer storage and the viewer wishing to begin viewing of atwo-hour program fifteen minutes after the scheduled broadcast starttime of 8:00 p.m. At 8:00 p.m. the system begins recording the broadcastprogram. This may occur due to a timer previously set by the user or itmay occur because the system is set to continuously record. Furthermore,the system may have been recording continuously for some time. However,in order to illustrate the nature of the dual-port circular buffer, inthe present example we consider the case where the present invention hasjust been turned on and the buffer has been initially empty.

Recording of the broadcast program begins at 8:00 p.m. At 8:15 p.m. theuser begins viewing the 8:00 p.m. material. Simultaneously, the presentinvention continues to record the currently-broadcast 8:15 material. At8:30 the buffer storage is completely filled. Consequently, the oldestmaterial, namely 8:00, is overwritten with the current 8:30 material.This process continues indefinitely, and effectively, the viewer hastime-shifted their viewing by 15 minutes in the present example. (Theuser may time-shift up to the maximum buffer storage size configured inthe system, which in the present example would be 30 minutes.)

Because of the aforementioned 15-minute time-shift the viewer may nowexercise VCR-like control features on the already-recorded material. Soin the present example, the viewer could fast-forward past commercialsor any objectionable material. Pause, stop and rewind features are alsoavailable, enabling the viewer to re-watch a segment or to pause theplayback for a phone call or other interruption.

3.4 Catching up to Live Broadcast

If the viewer were to fast-forward through the full buffer of recordedmaterial, they would be caught up to the live broadcast. When thisoccurs, the present invention may switch directly to the live feedwithout processing the input video through the usual capture andcompression. In a further embodiment, even the input video stream (whichis the ‘live’ feed) may be processed through capture and compression ifso desired. Note that In such a scenario only pause and rewind featureswould be available because no material is available in the buffer forfast-forwarding.

3.5 Do-Not-Overwrite Mode

In one use of the present invention, the user may be watching videoplayback at the same rate at which new data is being recorded. Assumingthat in the time between initiating recording and playback, the bufferstorage has not already been filled up, it will in fact never get filledup because data is being removed at the same rate at which it is beingadded.

However, in another scenario, the user may not watch video playback atall during the recording process. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the buffer storage is simply allowed to fill up and therecording process stops. In such an embodiment, it is the user'sresponsibility to recognize the limited amount of buffer storage in thesystem and use the system accordingly.

Consider the embodiment whereby the system is designed to store twohours of video from one or more channels and is not set to overwrite anyrecorded data. In such a case, the recording process acts much like aconventional VCR—two hours of programming are recorded and when thestorage media is filled, recording stops. However, the presentinvention, even in this particular embodiment has several uniqueadvantages over a VCR. Programming viewing and control, by virtue of thedigital data, is entirely random-access. The user may almostinstantaneously skip to any desired portion of the program. Furthermore,even though the recording process stopped when storage was filled, onceplayback begins, the user may record new material while viewing the twohours of previously-recorded material.

3.6 Partial Summary of Unique Features

The aforementioned features in essence return control of viewing to theviewer, who is no longer forced to view objectionable broadcast materialor to adhere strictly to the broadcast schedules. Complete control isreturned to the viewer, especially for real-time broadcasts. To achievethis control, the viewer need only slightly delay their viewing from thenormally-scheduled broadcast start time. Once the present invention'sFIFO dual-port storage has recorded some portion of the programming, theviewer has complete VCR-like control over the slightly-delayed butreal-time broadcast, without having to wait for the entire program to berecorded.

3.7 Multiple-Channel Device

To complete the paradigm shift into viewer-controlled broadcasttelevision viewing, one embodiment of the present invention performs allof the aforementioned functions simultaneously on many channels. In thismanner, the viewer may literally scan through, watch, or store one ormore of the channels, with all of the aforementioned features. In suchan embodiment, multiple video capture compression/decompression cardswould be required, or cards that are designed to accommodate more thanone video input stream. Multiple input streams may be realized throughmultiple tuners with multiple output streams to one or more storagedevices or through a single tuner with multiple output streams to one ormore storage devices. The total aggregate bandwidth of data to be storedmight also require faster storage media. Certainly RAM-based systemscould handle such bandwidths and write speeds. In a disk-basedembodiment, high-speed disk drives such as RAID drives can accommodatethe higher bandwidths. The total required bandwidth in any embodiment isdetermined by the output data rate of each video capture/compressioncard, chipset or software data stream. By varying the quality of thevideo, the compression method or the video resolution, the bandwidth maybe adjusted to suit the application. In some cases, these and otherparameters of the video capture/compression hardware or software areadjustable, thus allowing the output data rate to be adjusted. In othercases, this adjustment is made merely by the selection of the desiredcompression/decompression hardware or software versus another. In oneembodiment this configurability is tied directly to the contentprovider. For example, certain movies may include a command which isrecognized by the present invention and is used to set (at the user'sdiscretion) the compression/decompression quality to a higher-than-usuallevel.

3.8 Archival and ‘Save’ Features

Another feature of the present invention is it's ability to off-load thebuffer storage onto other more permanent media for either internal orexternal archival. For example, a RAM-only embodiment may also beconfigured with one or more other digital storage devices, such ashard-disk or recordable DVD. At any time, even automatically duringrecording and/or playback, the contents of the buffer storage may beselectively or continuously transferred or duplicated to these archivestorage devices in order to retain a copy of the program. In someembodiments, the viewer will transfer the program to removable mediasuch as DVD disc in order for it to be used in another device, includinganother of the present invention. In this manner, viewers can build a‘library’ of recorded material much like is currently accomplished withconventional VCRs. Such archival may occur at any time, includingbefore, during or after the viewing of the stored material. In oneembodiment, archival occurs as a user-selected transfer from the mainstorage to archival storage. In another embodiment programming iscontinuously recorded on the larger archival storage in addition to themain storage.

The present invention, however, offers several additional advantagesover the traditional analog-tape VCR library. First, due to the digitalnature of the data, many different embodiments are envisioned utilizingdifferent types of digital storage media. In some embodiments, multipletypes of storage media may be used, offering different levels ofoff-line or on-line storage and allowing the user to account for thevarious cost and physical considerations of the stored media type.Archival storage may be implemented as distinct devices separate fromthe buffer storage or as an allocation of one large storage device, withone portion designated and used as buffer storage and another asarchival storage.

Another unique feature of the storage characteristics of the presentinvention is that the aforementioned archival functions may be initiatedat any time including after the program has been viewed in it's entiretyfrom the buffer storage. For example, in a RAM-based embodiment, theuser may elect to transfer the entire contents of the program from RAMto hard disk, while playback and recording continue, or the user mayalso elect to transfer after viewing from RAM is complete. The onlycaveat in this process is that the user must consider the overwriting,circular buffer nature of the buffer storage and that the oldestmaterial is overwritten when the allocated amount of storage becomesfull. For this reason, this overwriting feature as well as all featuresof the system may be user-configurable. Other examples of archivalstorage mediums, both internal and external, include but are not limitedto: hard disk, removable hard disk, tape, optical disk, DVD or any otherdigital storage medium.

3.9 Save-with-Edits Feature

Another unique feature of the storage characteristics of the presentinvention is that the aforementioned archival functions may includeinterpretation of the playback control as edit events, thus modifyingthe copy of the program which is to be archived. For example, a user mayrecord a TV movie, fast-forwarding past each commercial. Upon storingthe viewed program, the user may elect to interpret the fast-forwardingor similar control in several ways. First, it may be taken literally,with the archived program including a control code for ‘fast-forward’.Upon playback, this control could be interpreted and executed by theplayback control software, thereby resulting in the playback of theprogram exactly as the viewer watched it, fast-forwards and all. Asecond manner of interpreting the fast-forward could be as an editpoint, the implication being that since the user fast-forwarded past aportion of the program they did not want to view it and therefore thatportion of the program need not be archived at all. In such a mode, uponplayback the video would seamlessly skip past the fast-forwarded portionof the program since it was not recorded in the archive at all. And in athird manner of interpreting the fast-forward or other playbackcontrols, these controls may not be recorded in archive at all, i.e.they may be ignored, implying that the user desires to have brand-newcontrol over the video at playback time.

3.10 Demographic and Viewing Habits Data Collection

A further feature of the present invention is that all of theaforementioned VCR-like control features may be stored as datarepresenting the viewer control. In other words, all of the viewercontrol such as fast-forward, play and pause are captured as data. Thisviewer control data may be used in a number of ways, including storagealong with the archived program as described previously. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, a modem is provided forcommunication to other similar devices or to computers via networkcommunication channels, such as phone lines, cable modems, andsatellite. In such an embodiment, at the election of the viewer, theviewer control data may be provided to a central computer for storage.The data may later be analyzed by advertisers, broadcasters, ratingscompanies and so forth to receive indirect feedback from viewersregarding viewing preferences. This same communication channel may beused to transmit software upgrades to the invention, remote diagnostics,billing data or pay-per-view locking/unlocking by the content provider.In another embodiment, the modem may be replaced by a fastercommunications device such as a satellite receiver, Internet connectionor so forth.

3.11 Network-Controlled Configurability

The aforementioned network communication channels are also used inanother unique way. Since these channels provide a link to othercomputers, possibly on the Internet, this connection may be used toautomatically set the configuration of the system from these computers.For example, in an embodiment connected to the Internet, the system alsoincludes basic computer components sufficient to interact with theWorld-Wide Web. Besides the network communications channel the systemalso includes a video graphics card and one or more user-interfacedevices which may include but are not limited to: a mouse, touchpad,keyboard, trackball, remote control or voice control. With thisWeb-based connection, content providers or third parties may link Webpages to interact with the present invention. For example, a third partymay offer pay-per-view programs, wherein the program may be ordered viathe Web, and data provided via the Web so the present invention can setparameters such as record timers, video quality settings, channel tuningand so forth. The Web site may provide additional data about the offeredprogram to aid the users in selecting programs, such as plot summaries,ratings, casts and so forth.

Many of the aforementioned features may be implemented in various modesand in some cases selectable by the user to be automatic. For example,“continuous recording” may be a mode, whereby the preferred embodimentcontinuously records on one or more programming channels, overwritingthe oldest data as previously described. But this mode is selectable forthere might be situations where this is not desirable, such as setting atimer on the present invention to record a program at a specific time.Should the user arrive home much later than expected, the recordedprogram is still available, instead of being recorded over by the latestprogram. And as another example, the aforementioned editing capabilitiesare configurable by the user, such as the “archive as edited” mode, inwhich control functions dictate an edited form of the program forarchival. These functions and configurable options are all controlledthrough any one of several user-interface methods. In one embodiment, aremote control and on-screen menus are used. In another embodiment,buttons on the device are used, also in conjunction with on-screenmenus. These and other user-interfaces are implemented alone or incombination, thus providing access to all of the unique featuresdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1—underlying context of functional advantages, example one

FIG. 2—underlying context of functional advantages, example two

FIG. 3—operational overview

FIG. 4—block diagram

FIG. 1 illustrates the underlying context of the operation of thepresent invention. Timeline 130 is depicted illustrating a particularexample from 8:00 to 10:00. Of course the times and durations of thisexample are for illustrative purposes only and any time or duration maybe used. Random access viewing position 100 represents the currentlocation within the recorded buffer from which viewing is taking place.Buffer storage 110 illustrates the use of a 30-minute buffer and onceagain, this is for illustrative purposes only and any duration may beused. Similarly, archive storage 120 illustrates archive storage of overtwo hours of recorded material. In the example of FIG, 1, assume theviewer wishes to time-shift their viewing by 15 minutes. With recordedmaterial illustrated as gray-shaded, FIG. 1 shows the case at 8:15,whereby half of buffer storage 110 has been filled with recordedmaterial from 8:00 to 8:15. Only half the buffer is filled in thisexample because this figure depicts the situation soon after presentinvention was initially turned on. Once the buffer fills up it acts as acircular buffer, as described previously. The underlying context shownin FIG. 1 corresponds with the example set forth in section 3.3.

As depicted for buffer storage 110, within this buffer the user hascomplete VCR-like control such as rewind and fast-forward. So the viewermay begin playback of the 8:00 material and immediately has thecapability to fast-forward up to the contents of the current bufferwhich in the illustrative example is 8:15. Archive storage 120 maintainsan archived copy of all the recorded material.

FIG. 1 is used to illustrate the use of buffer storage 100 and it'srelationship to the current time. Recording continues simultaneouslyduring any of these operations, continuing at the position of thecurrent real time as depicted in the figure.

The unique functional advantages of the invention are shown in FIG. 2.This example depicts the situation at 9:00. In this case, buffer storage210 is now filled with material which was recorded from 8:30 until 9:00and the viewer has full VCR-like control over this range of time. Allcomponents of this figure, timeline 230 random access viewing position200, buffer storage 210, archive and storage 220 are functionallyequivalent to the corresponding elements of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 simplyillustrates the conceptual use of the buffer storage at a later timethan that of FIG. 1. Also, the buffer storage and archive storage ofboth FIGS. 1 and 2 correspond directly to the storage in the blockdiagrams in FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 illustrates the operational overview of the preferred embodiment.Analog input video source 300 is connected to capture/compression card320 which includes capture/compression hardware 330 and decompressionplayback hardware 340. Storage input connection 340 illustrates thewriting of the compressed program data to storage device 380. Storagedevice 380 corresponds to the aforementioned buffer storage and may alsobe used as archival storage.

For playback, storage output connection 350 transfers data from storagedevice 380 to decompression/playback hardware 360. During playback, viavideo out connection 310, the program is transferred to a standard videodevice (not shown) such as a TV, monitor or VCR. Recording directionarrow 370 is included to conceptually illustrate the use of storage 380as a circular buffer as explained previously.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of the preferred embodiment. Housing 400is an enclosure for the present invention, including necessary powersupplies, casing, fans, buttons, power cord and connectors. Thesecomponents are not depicted but are well-understood in the design andmanufacture of consumer (or professional-grade) electronics. Containedwithin this housing in addition to the aforementioned basic componentsare: CPU 530, capture/display hardware 500, compression/decompressionhardware 480, output display switch 470, network interface 550, I/Ocontroller 570, system RAM 560, system bus 510, storage 580, removablestorage 590, set-top-box switch 424, tuner bypass switch 426, capturebypass switch 460, and input monitor switch 428. Also depicted but notincluded as part of the present embodiment are external componentsset-top box 410, content provider 420, television 430, monitor 340, VCR450, telecommunications connection 520, telecommunications cloud 490,workstation 595 and set-top box bypass switch 422.

Content provider 420 comprises, without limitation, over-the-airtelevision broadcasters, cable TV operators, satellite-feed providersand direct broadcast satellite (DBS) broadcasters. In some cases, theprogram material as made accessible to the user via set-top box 410instead of directly from content provider 420. Set-top box 410 may be acommon cable converter box or a digital video and user-interface box asused in upcoming cable and satellite services. The video format providedby both set-top box 410 and content provider 420 is most often astandard analog video signal and is routed to capture/display hardware500. However, in some cases a digital video signals is provided andtherefore the capture (analog-to-digital conversion) ordinarily providedby capture/display hardware 500 is not needed. Capture input switch 560is provided for such a circumstance and the input digital video isrouted directly to compressor/decompressor 480. This switching may beautomatic by the system, automatically controlled by the contentprovider or set-top box or it may be user-selectable.

In the case of a analog video input signal, the program must first beconverted to a digital format. Capture/display hardware 500 is a videocapture and playback card. Alternatively, this may be implemented in achipset form and integrated onto the main circuit board of the system.Capture/display boards are well-known in the art. Current examplesinclude hardware MPEG capture/compression boards commonly used incomputer systems. Such boards often integrate the compression element ofthe present invention, compressor/decompressor 480, into the same boardfor a full capture, compression, decompression and playbackfunctionality. Such components may be used in the present invention toimplement both capture/display hardware 500 and compressor/decompressor480. Alternatively, separate boards may be used. However, any of thecapture, compression, decompression and display elements may beincorporated directly onto the main circuit board of the invention.

The capture and compression of the incoming video program, or theautomatic or user-selectable switching out of the capture element, areall managed under control of CPU 530 which is a conventionalmicroprocessor. Software running on CPU 530 manages the capture,compression and storage of the program. In doing so, it controls systembus 510, to which all major components are connected. In this manner,CPU 530 controls the I/O controller, which in turn is used to operatestorage 580 and removable storage 590. Storage 580 may be implemented byone or more digital storage devices for buffer storage and/or archivestorage as discussed previously. System RAM 560 is used as needed by thesystem for software execution and temporary data storage. The softwarecontrolling capture/display 500 and compressor/decompressor 480 may usethis as buffer memory. In another embodiment, compressor/decompressor480 may be eliminated entirely, with CPU 530 performing thecompression/decompression operations in software, in which casecompressor/decompressor 480 uses system RAM 560 as buffer memory forsuch operations. In a similar embodiment, compressor/decompressor 480may be eliminated with set-top box 410 performingcompression/decompression. And in yet another embodiment,compressor/decompressor 480 and capture/display 500 may both beeliminated, with all of these functions being performed by set-top box410.

Storage 580 is implemented as any type of digital storage media. Thisincludes, without limitation, internal or external versions of harddisk, optical disk, DVD, magnetic tape and semi-conductor storage.Similar storage solutions may be implemented for removable media 590.Although only one storage device is depicted, more than one may be used.

Network interface 550 connects the device through network connection 520to telecommunications cloud 490. Telecommunications “cloud” is a termcommonly used to denote a myriad of inter-connected telecommunicationsconnection types and interfaces. It is essentially a superset of theInternet and may include networked computers, telephone lines, and othertelephone company equipment such as satellite, microwave and so forth.The portion of telecommunications cloud 490 to which the presentinvention is connected determines the type of network connection 520 andnetwork interface 550. For example, in a home-based embodiment, networkinterface 550 is likely to be a modem and telecommunications connectionwould be a telephone line. Other examples include, without limitation,cable modems and cable networks, computer networks such as Ethernet andtheir associated interfaces, and satellite modems. The present inventionis operatively connected through telecommunications cloud 490 toworkstation 595. Workstation 595 is any type of computer used byadvertisers, broadcasters, ratings companies and so forth to receiveindirect feedback from viewers regarding viewing preferences. Data aboutthe user's viewing habits and use of the invention may, at the user'soption, be transmitted via network interface 550 through theaforementioned operative link to workstation 595.

Many options are available for implementing the simultaneous read andwrite of storage 580. Commonly-available hard disks may be used,depending on the data rate of the compressed data stream of thecapture/compression hardware. For example, if MPEG-1 video is used, onestream requires a data rate of 1.5 Mbits/sec. Therefore, tosimultaneously read and write, storage 580 must be capable of sufficientthroughput for one write stream and one read stream, totaling 3.0Mbits/sec. Such input/output speeds are well within the realm of currenthard drives, which can sustain data rates of over 10 Mbits/sec.

Other embodiments can use other solutions for storage 580. For example,some embodiments will record many channels simultaneously and may evenplay back more than one channel simultaneously to provide a‘picture-in-picture’ feature similar to current televisions. The totalrequired bandwidth may exceed the sustained data rates for conventionaldisk drives. In such a case RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks)systems may be used. These systems are disk array subsystems which useseveral disk drives in parallel to achieve faster overall throughput.Similarly, the present invention may simply incorporate individualdrives for each tuned channel. RAM and other high-bandwidth storagesolutions may be also be used.

The ultimate use of the recorded data is in the playback. As the userviews programming through all the aforementioned features, the data isread from storage 580 or from removable media 590. This compressed datais routed to compressor/decompressor 480 for decompression under controlof CPU 530. In some embodiments, the data may be in an uncompressed formand compressor/decompressor 480 may be bypassed. Once the data isuncompressed, it may be routed directly to monitor 440 for viewing on adigital monitor such as those used by computer systems. Set-top box 410and/or television 430 may also be capable of accepting digital data ineither a compressed or uncompressed form and consequently data may berouted there directly. In the preferred embodiment, the uncompresseddigital data is routed to capture/display 500 for conversion to an NTSC,PAL, SECAM or other standard video signal for viewing on one or more ofthe display devices, TV 430, monitor 440 or VCR 450.

1. A method for time-shifted viewing of audio/video programs comprising:receiving one or more audio/video programs from one or more sources,wherein the one or more audio/video programs are associated with dataabout the programs, the data about the programs provided over a networkconnection; storing each of the one or more audio/video programs asprogram data in one or more cyclic buffers, whereupon being filled theone or more cyclic buffers begin replacing the oldest of the programdata with the newest program data in a digital storage device; andsimultaneously providing playback control of the program dataindependently from storing the one or more audio/video programs, whereintime-shifted viewing is delayed viewing of the one or more audio/videoprograms currently being received from the one or more sources, theviewing of which may be initiated and controlled simultaneously with thestoring of the one or more audio/video programs, and wherein one or moredevice configuration settings may be configured via a user interfaceover the network connection, wherein the network connection comprises anInternet protocol connection.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising moving the program data from the one or more cyclic buffersto one or more storage devices for archival of the program data.
 3. Asystem for time-shifted viewing of audio/video programs comprising: aninput for receiving one or more audio/video programs from one or moresources, wherein the one or more audio/video programs are associatedwith data about the programs, the data about the programs provided overa network connection; one or more cyclic buffersa digital storage devicefor storing the one or more programs as program data in a cyclicalfashion whereupon being filled, said cyclic buffers begin replacing theoldest program data with the newest program data and aresaid digitalstorage device being operable for simultaneously reading and writing ofprogram data; and a playback control interface for providing playbackcontrol of the program data independently from the storing of theprogram data, wherein time-shifted viewing is delayed viewing of the oneor more programs currently being receiving received from the one or moresources, the viewing of which may be initiated and controlledsimultaneously with the storing of the one or more audio/video programs,and wherein one or more device configuration settings may be configuredvia a user interface over the network connection, wherein the networkconnection comprises an Internet protocol connection.
 4. The system ofclaim 3, further comprising a storage device comprising semi-permanentmemory for storage of the one or more audio/video programs.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the playback control comprises random accessplay, stop, pause, rewind, and fast-forward functions.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising capturing the playback control as viewinghabit data.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising storing theviewing habit data.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the data about theprograms comprises plot summary data.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe data about the programs comprises rating data.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the data about the programs comprises cast data. 11.The system of claim 3, wherein the playback control interface includescontrol for random access play, stop, pause, rewind, and fast-forwardfunctionality.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the playback controlfunctionality is associated with viewing habit data.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, further comprising memory configured to store the viewinghabit data.
 14. The system of claim 3, wherein the data about theprograms comprises plot summary data.
 15. The system of claim 3, whereinthe data about the programs comprises rating data.
 16. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the data about the programs comprises cast data.
 17. Acomputer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon at least oneprogram, the at least one program being executable by a computerprocessor to perform a method for time-shifted viewing of audio/videoprograms comprising: receiving one or more audio/video programs from oneor more sources, wherein the one or more audio/video programs areassociated with data about the programs, the data about the programsprovided over a network connection; storing each of the one or moreaudio/video programs as program data in one or more cyclic buffers,whereupon being filled the one or more cyclic buffers begin replacingthe oldest of the program data with the newest program data in a digitalstorage medium; and simultaneously providing playback control of thedata independently from storing the one or more audio/video programs,wherein time-shifted viewing is delayed viewing of the one or moreaudio/video programs currently being received from the one or moresources, the viewing of which may be initiated and controlledsimultaneously with the storing of the one or more audio/video programs,and wherein one or more device configuration settings may be configuredvia a user interface over the network connection, wherein the networkconnection comprises an Internet protocol connection.
 18. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the device configuration setting comprises a recordtimer.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein the device configurationsetting comprises a video quality setting.
 20. The method of claim 1,wherein the device configuration setting comprises tuning to aparticular channel.
 21. The system of claim 3, wherein the deviceconfiguration setting comprises a record timer.
 22. The system of claim3, wherein the device configuration setting comprises a video qualitysetting.
 23. The system of claim 3, wherein the device configurationsetting comprises tuning to a particular channel.
 24. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the receipt of the one or more audio/video programsfrom the one or more sources occurs simultaneously.
 25. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the input is configured to simultaneously receive theone or more audio/video programs.
 26. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 17, wherein the receipt of the one or more audio/videoprograms from the one or more sources occurs simultaneously.
 27. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the digital storage mediumcomprises one or more cyclic buffers.
 28. The method according to claim1, further comprising replacing the oldest program data with the newestprogram data.
 29. The system according to claim 3, wherein the digitalstorage device comprises one or more cyclic buffers.
 30. The systemaccording to claim 29, wherein said digital storage device replaces theoldest program data with the newest program data when the digitalstorage device is filled.
 31. The computer-readable storage mediumaccording to claim 17, wherein the digital storage medium comprises oneor more cyclic buffers.
 32. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising storing each of the one or more audio/video programs asprogram data in one or more cyclic buffers; and replacing the oldestprogram data with the newest program data when the one or more cyclicbuffers become filled.
 33. A method for time-shifted viewing ofaudio/video programs comprising: receiving one or more audio/videoprograms from one or more sources, wherein the one or more audio/videoprograms are associated with data about the programs, the data about theprograms provided over a network connection; storing each of the one ormore audio/video programs as program data in one or more digital storagedevices; and simultaneously providing playback control of the programdata independently from storing the one or more audio/video programs,wherein time-shifted viewing is delayed viewing of the one or moreaudio/video programs currently being received from the one or moresources, the viewing of which may be initiated and controlledsimultaneously with the storing of the one or more audio/video programs,and wherein one or more device configuration settings may be configuredvia a user interface over the network connection, wherein the networkconnection comprises an Internet connection.
 34. The method according toclaim 33, wherein the digital storage devices comprise one or morecyclic buffers.
 35. The method according to claim 34, further comprisingreplacing the oldest program data with the newest program data when thedigital storage devices are filled.